Panoz Gets 2007 Chassis Contract

[macdaddy]

The contract with Panoz is for three years.

And this is from the CC website:

Tom Smith and the other clever engineers at Newman/Haas Racing came up with this formula for the track at Surfers Paradise:

Assuming the Champ Car World Series ran the same aerodynamic package in 2007, the Surfers Paradise track remained the same and minor mechanical parts of the car were slightly changed to adapt to the new chassis/engine configuration, the 2007 cars would be 2.1 seconds quicker and 3.1 mph faster on this course than they currently are.

Estimate is approximate.

[The Snout]

Yeah Lola aren't going to burn too many bridges. If it's a 3 year deal now then you can assume that the tender will go out again in 2008 for 2010-2012 seasons. And CC's guidelines may have changed by then to let in a 2nd chassis or Panoz may not have performed, anything could happen, anyone's guess.

[Elton Julian]

Who will do the testing and development next year with the car? Surely not an existing CC team. Haas? Panoz? Other?

[Amar7605]

I'm guessing that testing will be done by either Forsythe, PKV, or Rocketsports, since their owners own the series.

[Kicking-back]

I would imagine testing will be done by Panoz themselves, with a driver from outwith ChampCar

[climb]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Why would Panoz need to do that????

Lola was based in the UK, thus they needed a distributor here....Panoz is in Brazelton, Georgia...why go through a middle man???

Because races won't be held in Braselton, Tim.
Nor will they be held in the same place n times during the season.
No matter where you come from, having a traveling structure (staff, truck etc) could prove more expensive than granting a distributor a markup to sell the spare parts wherever events are held, and entrusting them all the "things-to-do" about logistics and stock management.

[indycool]

I've read a bunch of forum discussions about the new car and what people who know far more than I do about chassis have had to say, but something has been nagging at me from the look of the thing, so I called an engineer and asked.

CC must be ditching ovals completely starting with '07, because with that high nose and drooping wings, the car is totally unsuitable for an oval. Engineer told me that he didn't even think they could make a kit for it for an oval.

With Milwaukee out after '06 when its contract runs out, and Vegas on a year-to-year track rental, IMO, when this car debuts, there'll be no ovals on the CC schedule.

[Snrub]

But it's also said to have been designed specifically to accept a rear wing structure suitable for ovals. What do drooping wings have to do with oval suitability? We don't know what the oval wings will look like. Regarding the high nose, is there any reason that an oval nose section couldn't be lower to the ground? I think you're jumping to conclusions.

[indycool]

Could be, Snrub. Time will tell. But if they're going to have different front and rear wings and nose pieces for an oval, what are those "kits" going to cost? Maybe they're saying that, but as I said, they only have two ovals now and one's a track rental and one wants to stop losing money on CC as soon as possible. Maybe my dots connect, maybe they don't.

[nciko1]

I agree with you indycool on two points. The first is to me that the new chassis doesn't really have that overall Champcar "look" to it (high front wing) and second, it doesn't look as if an oval racing kit could be easily adapted to this new chassis. That was one of the first things that struck me when I saw the pics of the new chassis (must be doing away with ovals completely I thought to myself). It is also definitely a cost issue as if there were ovals in 2007 and beyond, I could see no more than 2 on the schedule at most.

[macdaddy]

Two reasons why I disagree.

First, didn't Penske build a raised-nose chassis that ran fine on ovals?

Second, and more importantly, the new car will rely much more upon the undertray than on the wings. That's been the goal all along.

Therefore, I give little credence to said engineer's deductions. Unless, of course, he is privy to the blueprints.

I believe (hope) that they will keep going to the Vegas speedway. At least until a street-race opportunity arises near the Strip. And I believe (hope) that OWRS will strive to keep at least two ovals on the sked every year. Also, the pairing with GrandAm could help to build relations with ISC. And working alongside NASCAR's trucks might prove to help out, too. I couldn't possibly hurt to get in cahoots with the France family.

[mountainstar]

Also keep in mind folks there will be changes as the car is developed and tested.

[enemy-ace]

Champ Car runs road course wings on the ovals currently on the schedule. So as long as the crash structure is safe I don't see an issue with the next gen car in regards to downforce.
Correct me if I am wrong but generally an oval setup from years past was to reduce drag. They weren't exactly high downforce cars in relation to what either Champ Car or the IRL are running now.

[Tim Northcutt]

Keep in Mind that the Reynards in the mid-1990s had at least a somewhat-raised nose....

They put front wings that drooped downward on the Superspeedway package and ran just fine....

There would be various options that could occur here

[The Snout]

I'll wait for the '07 schedule, rather than put stock in an opinion of an artist's rendition of the car to which David Bowes stated is in a concept stage currently.

[indycool]

Snout, you have the best idea of all. And macdaddy, the pie-in-the-sky concept of a race on The Strip in Vegas, IMO, just ain't gonna happen, for a lot of reasons.

There isn't a place for it to happen. Casino owners will voice HUGE objections, which will be honored by the LV Convention and Tourism Bureau and City Hall, to having their casino routes shut down or restricted. Steve Wynn's new facility doesn't have the room. This has been a CC vision since OWRS' inception but they just don't understand how business works in Las Vegas and there'll be way too much opposition against it, of which LVMS will be a minimal part.

They don't know what they don't know there.

[Amar7605]

We're all missing one thing here - we are analyzing the drawings of the new car, and not an actual picture of a real one. And generally the real car will look different than from the concept.

Besides, Panoz still has at least a year to work on it. Perhaps those wings that are on the drawings won't be on the actual production car! I am sure that CC and Panoz are designing wings for ovals, after all, they did say that this car is suppossed to be suited for ovals as well.

Let's not jump the gun folks!

[NikkiM]

Hi,I have just noticed an image of the Lola offering, looks kinda cool. Shame we wont get to see the real thing!

On: www.lolacars.com

[NikkiM]

http://www.lolacars.com/med/usr/1610/c2pdf287350.pdf

http://www.lolacars.com/med/usr/1610/c1pdf55142.pdf

[macdaddy]

Welcome to 10T's, NikkiM!
Interesting that the Lola also had a raised nose.

[Amar7605]

Thanks for the photos, NikkiM!

Did you all notice how there was an F1-style steering wheel?

[Amar7605]

Could someone post a sideshot of the current Champ Car, and the sideshot drawing of the new Champ Car? It would be neat to make a direct, visual comparison. Hopefully it won't break any copyright laws!

Thanks!

[macdaddy]

Amar, here you go...



Both photos from ChampCar's website.

I've resized the original pictures so as to (accurately) portray the difference in length, as measured by wheelbase (127" down to 123"). In so doing, the drawings would tend to show that the tires on the new car will be smaller!

Which leads me to thinking about something that hadn't crossed my mind until now. Bridgestone will have to develop new tires to work with the new chassis. It's going to mean a rather-sizable expense for them to do so.

Also, in perusing the CC website, I happened upon an article that we've already seen. But the first time, I didn't notice a link for a "Video Overview" of the new chassis. Worth a watch if you're interested.

For instance, I learned that the driver will be sitting more-upright in the new chassis. This is an attempt to minimize injury in the event of a heavy rear-first impact, perhpas further solidifying my hopes that they intend to keep ovals on the sked.

[Foster]

I notice a lot of the A1GP car in the Lola design.

[Amar7605]

Thanks, macdaddy!

To me, the new car looks meaner and more sleeker. I can't wait!